Tipperary Intermediate Hurling Team of the Championship as it stands currently.
Numbers don’t tell the whole story, but some of these numbers are impossible to ignore
Twenty-four group games.
Sixteen clubs.
Eight teams still alive in the race for the Michael Maher Cup.
And after three rounds of the 2026 Tipperary Intermediate Hurling Championship, there has been more than enough evidence to select our first Premier View Team of the Championship.
This isn’t a team based on reputation.
It isn’t simply the top scorers thrown into a starting fifteen.
And it isn’t restricted to players from the four group winners.
We have looked at the complete scoring data, scores from play, individual match returns, consistency across all three rounds, match reports, the performances that swung important games, and the wider performance of each player’s team.
That matters.
A free-taker accumulating a big total is valuable, but it is not the same thing as repeatedly scoring from open play.
Likewise, a defender on a team conceding 36 points per game has a harder case than one anchoring the best defensive unit in the competition.
Context counts.
So does winning.
But individual brilliance cannot simply be ignored because a player’s team has exited the championship.
That is particularly relevant when you look at the likes of Darragh Brennan and Conal Moran.
The final selection contains players from across the championship, but the numbers inevitably point strongly towards the leading teams.
Kilsheelan/Kilcash scored 102 points, comfortably the best attacking return of any club.
Borrisokane conceded just 52, the best defensive record.
Portroe finished with a +19 scoring difference.
Ballingarry went three from three while conceding only 55.
Clonakenny responded to a Round 1 defeat by winning their next two games and have one of the most productive forwards in the entire championship.
Those performances are reflected in the fifteen.
Here is our Tipperary Intermediate Hurling Team of the Championship after three rounds.
1. Kevin O’Halloran, Portroe
There were several legitimate contenders for the goalkeeper position, particularly from Borrisokane and Ballingarry, whose defensive numbers were exceptional.
Our vote goes to Kevin O’Halloran.
Portroe conceded only 61 points in their three group games, the fourth-best defensive record in the championship, and finished Group 1 with a healthy +19 scoring difference.
O’Halloran’s influence also goes beyond what appears on the scoreboard.
His shot-stopping has been a major feature of Portroe’s season. His performances during their run to the North title underlined that, including a series of major interventions when games were in the balance.
That composure and security have continued into a county campaign in which Portroe have advanced to the quarter-finals.
Kilsheelan/Kilcash managed to expose Portroe in Round 2, but the response was emphatic.
They conceded only 0-08 against Clonoulty/Rossmore in Round 3.
Portroe’s season has been built on more than their attack, and O’Halloran gets the No.1 jersey.
2. Brian Keating, Portroe
There is a tendency when looking at Portroe to immediately focus on Sam Madden, John Sheedy and their attacking threat.
But their defensive platform deserves substantial credit.
Brian Keating has been an important part of it.
Portroe conceded only 61 points across the group stage and, outside the Kilsheelan game, their defence has been extremely difficult to break down.
Their Round 1 victory over last year’s county finalists Knockavilla-Donaskeigh Kickhams was an early indication that Portroe were genuine contenders.
They held Kickhams to 0-21, then completely strangled Clonoulty/Rossmore in Round 3.
Keating’s strength in the defensive unit and ability to get Portroe moving earns him a place in the corner.
3. Michael Breen, Portroe
A proper full-back selection.
Michael Breen is one of the anchors around which Portroe’s defence has been constructed.
He has already produced significant performances during Portroe’s championship season, and the evidence from their defensive record is strong.
Only Borrisokane, Ballingarry and Newport conceded fewer during the group phase.
Portroe’s ability to survive pressure has been crucial.
That was particularly important when they edged Kickhams 1-19 to 0-21 in Round 1.
It was a one-point game where every defensive intervention mattered.
At the other end of the group stage came the complete opposite type of match, Portroe simply suffocating Clonoulty before running away with a 3-29 to 0-08 victory.
Breen has been central to a defence that gives Portroe the platform for their attacking players to flourish.
4. Cian Flanagan, Newport
Newport possess one of the most underrated defensive records in the championship.
They have conceded just 56 points across three games.
That is an average of only 18.67 per game.
Only Borrisokane and Ballingarry have conceded fewer.
Cian Flanagan has been one of the important figures in that unit.
Newport began by holding Ballybacon-Grange to 0-14, pushed unbeaten Borrisokane hard in Round 2, and then limited Moyle Rovers to 0-16 in their winner-takes-all Round 3 contest.
That consistency matters.
Newport have not needed enormous scoring totals because their defensive structure has kept them in control of games.
Flanagan gets the final spot in the full-back line.
5. Robert Byrne, Portroe
Another Portroe man, but one whose influence is very easy to justify.
Robert Byrne brings leadership, defensive ability and a willingness to contribute going forward.
And the scoring data supports that last point.
Byrne has contributed 0-06 from play during the county group stages.
For a player operating from the defensive half of the field, that is a serious contribution.
He scored in all three rounds and gives Portroe a transition threat that can turn defence into attack very quickly.
There is leadership here too.
Portroe aren’t simply surviving at Intermediate.
They are North champions, they have gone 2-1 in a difficult county group and they enter the quarter-finals with the second-best scoring difference in the entire competition.
Byrne has been at the heart of it.
6. Mike Heenan, Borrisokane
If you are selecting a centre-back after three rounds, the first place to look should probably be the team with the best defence.
That is Borrisokane.
Three games.
Three wins.
Only 52 points conceded.
An average of just 17.33 per game.
That is elite defensive production.
Captain Mike Heenan has been right at the heart of it.
What elevates his selection further is what he has done going the other way.
Heenan has contributed 0-08 from play during the county group stages.
Against Newport in Round 2 he was particularly influential, landing 0-06 as Borrisokane turned a tight contest into a six-point victory.
Newport had actually led by four at one stage.
The sides were level at half-time.
Then Borrisokane took control.
Heenan hit three points during a decisive second-half spell before Borrisokane finished with five unanswered scores.
A centre-back helping command the best defence in the championship while also producing that sort of scoring output?
Automatic selection.
7. Diarmuid Hogan, Borrisokane
This selection is about recognising the unit that has performed better defensively than anybody else.
Borrisokane have conceded:
52 points in three games.
Two goals.
That is it.
Just two goals conceded across the entire group stage.
They held Moyle Rovers to 0-17.
They conceded 1-17 to Newport.
They held Ballybacon-Grange to 1-12.
There has been no defensive collapse, no wild game where their structure disappeared and no game where an opponent has managed to expose them badly.
Diarmuid Hogan has been a key part of that defensive system.
Not every selection on a Team of the Championship needs a headline scoring statistic beside his name.
Sometimes the statistic is the scoreboard at the other end.
And nobody’s scoreboard looks better than Borrisokane’s.
8. Sam Madden, Portroe
One of the easiest selections.
Sam Madden is central to almost everything Portroe do.
The raw scoring numbers are good.
The influence is even greater.
Madden has accumulated 0-13 overall, with 0-12 coming from play, across the three county rounds.
That is a remarkable open-play contribution from around the middle third.
Then came Round 3.
Portroe needed the win.
Madden delivered a man-of-the-match level performance as Clonoulty/Rossmore were dismantled.
He finished with 0-08, seven from play, as Portroe turned a relatively tight half-time contest into a rout.
The bigger picture strengthens his case.
Portroe scored 80 across the group stages.
They finished with a +19 scoring difference.
They are into the quarter-finals.
Madden is the engine.
He has range.
He can score.
He can win possession.
He can strike sideline balls.
He can influence a game without having to be stationed close to goal.
First midfielder picked.
9. Barry Kehoe, Kilsheelan/Kilcash
Here is where the statistics become ridiculous.
Barry Kehoe: 1-17.
Every single one of those scores came from play.
Twenty points worth of scoring.
Zero frees.
Zero reliance on dead balls.
And he did it for the highest-scoring team in the championship.
Kilsheelan/Kilcash have produced 102 points across three matches.
Barry Kehoe accounts for 20 of them through open play alone.
That means almost one-fifth of the best attack in the championship has come directly from Kehoe’s stick in open play.
And there has been consistency.
He contributed 1-07 in Round 1.
0-05 in Round 2.
0-05 in Round 3.
There is no one-game statistical inflation here.
No huge haul against the weakest opponent followed by two quiet matches.
He has produced in all three rounds.
Against Portroe, when Kilsheelan announced themselves as the team to beat, Kehoe scored five from play.
Kilsheelan led from start to finish that day and their attacking movement caused Portroe enormous problems.
Kehoe was central to it.
Whether you want to call him a midfielder, half-forward or attacking link player, he has to be in this team.
10. Sean O’Mahony, Arravale Rovers
Arravale Rovers have the second-highest scoring attack in the entire Intermediate Championship.
They have accumulated 89 points, an average of almost 30 per match.
Sean O’Mahony has been one of the driving forces.
His three-round total stands at 2-20, worth 26 points.
Crucially, 18 of those points worth of scores have come from play.
That is a major distinction.
O’Mahony is not appearing near the top of the scoring lists simply because he takes every free.
He is hurting teams in open play.
His Round 1 performance against Clonakenny was especially significant, with Arravale putting 3-26 on the scoreboard against a team that subsequently won both of its remaining games.
He was again prominent against Shannon Rovers in one of the best games of the group stages.
Arravale’s Round 3 defensive collapse against Carrick Davins damaged their overall standing, but offensively they still hit 0-27.
The Arravale attack has consistently produced.
O’Mahony has been one of its most dangerous components.
11. Bobby Bergin, Clonakenny
The Premier View Player of the Championship after three rounds.
There are several contenders.
Barry Kehoe has an extraordinary case.
Darragh Brennan has an extraordinary case.
But our nod, narrowly, goes to Bobby Bergin.
Why?
2-16.
Twenty-two points worth of scores.
And every single one of them has come from open play.
No frees.
No penalties.
No artificially inflated total.
Just score after score from general play.
His round-by-round return demonstrates his consistency.
Round 1: 1-08 from play.
Round 2: 1-02 from play.
Round 3: 0-06 from play.
He scored in every round.
And when Clonakenny’s season was effectively on the line against Shannon Rovers, Bergin delivered again.
That match could easily have got away from Clonakenny.
They led by eleven.
Shannon came roaring back.
The sides were level after 38 minutes.
Clonakenny needed somebody to stop the momentum.
Bergin was one of those who stepped forward.
He scored as Clonakenny rebuilt their advantage and added another crucial point as the game moved towards its decisive phase.
Clonakenny eventually won 3-24 to 2-19 and secured their knockout place.
That’s not empty scoring.
That’s championship scoring.
Two goals and sixteen points from play across three rounds.
Our Player of the Championship so far.
12. Oisín Larkin, Borrisokane
Three wins from three.
Best defence in the championship.
And at the other end, Oisín Larkin has provided Borrisokane with the reliable scoring threat that every contender needs.
His overall total stands at 1-26.
That’s 29 points worth of scores.
But it isn’t all dead-ball work.
Larkin has contributed 1-12 from play, worth 15 points.
Again, that balance matters.
He can punish indiscipline from frees, but he can also create and finish scores himself.
His biggest championship intervention came against Newport.
Borrisokane were in a serious contest.
Newport had threatened to take control.
Then Larkin struck for a crucial goal during Borrisokane’s second-half surge.
They went on to win by six.
Larkin subsequently contributed another eight points in the Round 3 victory over Ballybacon-Grange.
There is a straightforward reason Borrisokane are 3-0.
They defend exceptionally well and they have a dependable scoring focal point.
Larkin provides the latter.
13. Darragh Brennan, Skeheenarinky
Possibly the most extraordinary individual statistical line in the entire championship.
Skeheenarinky did not win a county group game.
Darragh Brennan still forces his way into this team.
He has scored 1-20 overall.
And 1-19 of it has come from play.
Twenty-two points worth of scores from open play.
Just one point in his entire championship total came from a placed ball.
That is sensational.
Look at the progression.
Round 1, 0-04 from play.
Round 2, 0-08 from play.
Round 3, 1-07 from play.
His contribution has increased every time Skeheen have taken the field.
Against Cappawhite he was almost uncontainable.
Ten points worth of scores.
All from play.
He was the major reason Skeheenarinky transformed what appeared to be a comfortable Cappawhite victory into a four-point game.
And this is not simply one hot afternoon.
Brennan was also named Man of the Match when Skeheenarinky won their first South Intermediate title earlier in the summer.
He has carried that form into the county championship.
Skeheen face Newport in the preliminary quarter-final.
If Brennan produces anything close to his Round 3 performance again, Newport have a major problem.
14. Mark Kehoe, Kilsheelan/Kilcash
Another staggering open-play return.
3-10.
Nineteen points worth of scores.
All from play.
And remember, Mark Kehoe didn’t even start every game.
That tells you everything about the depth Kilsheelan/Kilcash possess.
His Round 2 display against Portroe was one of the defining performances of the group stages.
Kilsheelan went into that game against the North champions with people wondering how genuine their Round 1 demolition of Clonoulty really was.
Kehoe answered the question.
He scored 2-04 as Kilsheelan tore Portroe apart.
The first goal arrived shortly after half-time and pushed Kilsheelan’s advantage out.
Then came another.
Portroe simply could not contain him.
Kilsheelan won 4-20 to 2-14 and suddenly everybody in the competition was paying attention.
Then, in Round 3, they did not even have to start him against last year’s county finalists Kickhams.
He came on.
He scored two points.
Kilsheelan still put up 1-29.
That is frightening depth.
Three goals and ten points from play after three rounds makes Kehoe impossible to leave out.
15. Conal Moran, Shannon Rovers
The most difficult selection decision was whether to reward another player from one of the unbeaten teams or include the outstanding scorer from a team whose season is already finished.
The numbers made the decision.
Conal Moran has been enormous for Shannon Rovers.
His overall group-stage return is worth 36 points, including two goals.
And he produced when the pressure was highest.
Against Arravale Rovers he scored 0-13 as Shannon came desperately close to knocking off the West champions.
Shannon trailed.
They fought back.
Moran kept driving them.
They eventually led late before Conor Donovan’s injury-time goal snatched victory for Arravale.
Then came the winner-takes-all meeting with Clonakenny.
Shannon found themselves eleven points behind after only 16 minutes.
Their championship looked finished.
Moran dragged them back into it.
He scored 2-11 in the match.
His penalty goal before half-time gave Shannon life.
His second goal after the restart brought them closer.
Within minutes the sides were level.
Shannon ultimately lost by eight, but without Moran there would never even have been a contest.
Shannon Rovers are the statistical anomaly of this championship.
They scored 86 points, the third-highest total of any team.
They finished with a +17 scoring difference.
And they are out.
Moran was at the centre of that attacking production.
A player does not cease to be one of the best performers in a championship simply because his team’s season ended early.
He gets the final jersey.
The Premier View Intermediate Team of the Championship After Three Rounds
1. Kevin O’Halloran, Portroe
2. Brian Keating, Portroe
3. Michael Breen, Portroe
4. Cian Flanagan, Newport
5. Robert Byrne, Portroe
6. Mike Heenan, Borrisokane
7. Diarmuid Hogan, Borrisokane
8. Sam Madden, Portroe
9. Barry Kehoe, Kilsheelan/Kilcash
10. Sean O’Mahony, Arravale Rovers
11. Bobby Bergin, Clonakenny
12. Oisín Larkin, Borrisokane
13. Darragh Brennan, Skeheenarinky
14. Mark Kehoe, Kilsheelan/Kilcash
15. Conal Moran, Shannon Rovers
Club Breakdown
Portroe, 5
Kevin O’Halloran, Brian Keating, Michael Breen, Robert Byrne, Sam Madden
Borrisokane, 3
Mike Heenan, Diarmuid Hogan, Oisín Larkin
Kilsheelan/Kilcash, 2
Barry Kehoe, Mark Kehoe
Arravale Rovers, 1
Sean O’Mahony
Clonakenny, 1
Bobby Bergin
Newport, 1
Cian Flanagan
Skeheenarinky, 1
Darragh Brennan
Shannon Rovers, 1
Conal Moran
The Numbers Behind the XV
There are some astonishing individual figures buried inside the first three rounds.
Bobby Bergin, 2-16 from play
That is 22 points worth of scores without a single placed ball.
Darragh Brennan, 1-19 from play
Again, 22 points worth of open-play scores.
Barry Kehoe, 1-17 from play
Twenty points worth of open-play scoring for the leading team in our Power Rankings.
Mark Kehoe, 3-10 from play
Three goals, ten points and no reliance on placed balls.
Sean O’Mahony, 2-12 from play
A huge component of an Arravale attack that has scored 89 points.
Oisín Larkin, 1-12 from play
Alongside his placed-ball scoring, giving him a total championship return of 1-26.
Those numbers explain why this forward selection became so difficult.
There are players putting up totals normally associated with five or six championship games.
They have done it in three.
Player of the Championship So Far: Bobby Bergin
The tightest call of all.
Barry Kehoe could win it.
Darragh Brennan could win it.
Sam Madden has been magnificent for Portroe.
Mike Heenan has led the championship’s best defensive unit.
Oisín Larkin is the scoring leader for an unbeaten team.
But after three rounds, Bobby Bergin gets our vote.
His numbers are almost impossible to argue with.
2-16.
All from play.
And unlike some enormous individual totals accumulated on teams that have struggled, Bergin’s scoring has directly contributed to Clonakenny reaching the knockout stages.
After losing to Arravale Rovers in Round 1, Clonakenny had no room for error.
They won twice.
Bergin scored 1-02 from play in Round 2 and 0-06 from play in the decisive Round 3 win over Shannon Rovers.
That’s what separates the very good from the best.
Numbers plus consequence.
The Unlucky Ones
Selecting fifteen players from sixteen teams means good players have to miss out.
Martin Gibbs of Kilsheelan/Kilcash has accumulated 0-21 and has been an important component of the best attack in the competition.
Colin Floyd of Newport has 1-18 overall and remains vital to a Newport team that has reached the preliminary quarter-final.
Tomas Vaughan of Skeheenarinky has accumulated 1-22 and carries much of their placed-ball scoring responsibility.
Dara McCarthy of Cappawhite has 1-26 overall and produced 1-04 from play against Skeheenarinky in Round 3.
John Sheedy of Portroe has provided 0-20 during a strong campaign.
Cian O’Dwyer of Clonakenny has accumulated 0-29 and gives Clonakenny a highly dependable scoring platform.
Stephen Browne of Kickhams finishes with 0-24 despite his side failing to qualify.
Eamonn Hough and Austin Tierney of Shannon Rovers also produced huge open-play contributions, combining for six goals during the group stage.
Tommy McGrath of Ballingarry deserves particular mention too. His 2-06 from play came for a side that won all three games.
And perhaps that highlights the difficulty of this selection.
Ballingarry went three from three and do not have a player in the final XV.
That is not a criticism of Ballingarry.
If anything, it reflects how evenly spread their contribution has been.
They scored 70.
They conceded only 55.
They won every game.
But unlike some of their rivals, they have not relied on one or two players producing enormous individual statistical returns.
Their strength has been collective.
What Does The Team Tell Us?
There is a wider story in this fifteen.
Kilsheelan/Kilcash have the most devastating attack.
Borrisokane have the best defence.
Portroe may have the best balance of individual influence across the field.
Clonakenny possess arguably the outstanding individual performer.
And some of the championship’s best players are already out.
That last point matters.
Conal Moran scored at a rate that would usually propel a team deep into a championship.
It wasn’t enough.
Shannon Rovers scored more than every team except Kilsheelan/Kilcash and Arravale Rovers.
They are finished.
Likewise, Skeheenarinky have a forward in Darragh Brennan producing outrageous open-play numbers but still have to survive a preliminary quarter-final just to reach the last eight.
That’s championship hurling.
Individual numbers can put you in the conversation.
They cannot guarantee survival.
The Championship Is About To Change
The first three rounds have given players room to recover.
Not anymore.
Kilsheelan/Kilcash, Arravale Rovers, Ballingarry and Borrisokane are safely through as group winners.
Portroe, Clonakenny and Cappawhite are also waiting in the quarter-finals.
Newport and Skeheenarinky must fight for the final place.
From here, one poor performance and the season is finished.
Which means this Team of the Championship will almost certainly look very different when the Michael Maher Cup is eventually handed over.
Some of these players will strengthen their case.
Some will disappear from contention.
New names will emerge.
But through the first three rounds, these are the fifteen players who have made the biggest impression.
And right now, Bobby Bergin is setting the individual standard.